Broken reflections
by Divinity-fan
Summary: It took one choice to make them meet and changes their priorities. In the chaos of their world they found something to hold onto. Would they take the challenge that come with it or take the easier road and forget about everything? (Formerly: Undisclosed desires)
1. another day in hell

Another day

Ten hours went by. From the first cool rays of the rising sun indicating dawn to the fading ones designating the end of the day, his eyes had seen it all. For ten hours straight he had watched the day goes by through the thin but long rectangular hole serving as window at the far top of the plain grey wall.

It had been a long time since his first day there. He had time to see people turn for the worse. After being separated from families and cut from society, they'd go all day long complain and going full pity-party on themselves. They'd lament, beg to go out and act like souls burning in hell as depicted in mythologies and fairy tales.

Sasuke had no gods or religions but he did agree that place wasn't the most pleasant place to be. After all, they were in a prison in the middle of the damp boring hole called Ame no Kuni.

The small town was run by corrupted and merciless authorities that abused the defenseless and miserable population and closed their eyes on the frightening increase of criminality fueled by poverty, hunger, and the proliferation of criminal groups. He had seen men being beaten because they couldn't pay taxes after the same authorities took everything of them. He had seen them handle women obscenely before husbands and families. He had seen them snatch people food and goods, and spit on them.

If that wasn't bad enough the sky that was hundred percent of time grey in daytime and half that time threw buckets of water on the gloom place. The time was always glooming and dark and the weird landscape constituted of weird long towers made of iron cylinders where no one could live. There were too many wires and antennas everywhere along other iron-cladded oddities. Houses had more iron than wood and cement (which was still overused here too) as most houses in the whole country. Buildings were vertiginously high, and sometime two buildings would be connected with one block which included flats suspended in the air. To add more to the curiosity there was the biggest towers of all the weird ones and on each side of it where gigantic faces making grimaces with open mouths with rings and earrings on lips, noses, ears and brows. The four faces had hands turned up with bracelets on them, one of them holding a pipe. Again on them could be seen their weird fantasy about big iron cylinders: on their tongues to attach it to their mouths and on both sides and under the faces to attach them to the tower. The big faces' big eyes made of four circles watched over everyone.

At night crows wouldn't shut up.

What could one then expect their prisons? The one he was in was just block of old grey walls full of crooks and fissures, and ready to fall over their heads. The fence was of course made of electrified wires of course, where many a rotten corpse had been found. That was aside from the endless lamentations, suicide, tears and criminals from harmless downtown making reign their 'authority'.

Being in the pit of a well wasn't different from there.

Despite all the bore and pity that place inspired, Sasuke didn't care. It had been like day for quite a long moment. He didn't care about anything and no one for that matter.

Sasuke would get up feeling empty, feeling the meaningless day arise like rain slide over the skin once being already drenched. Nothing had taste; nothing had color. He had seen too much of this world to be surprised or to care. The first time he had that feeling of nothing after sometimes upon his arrival had feel so empowering. The fact that he felt nothing had made him feel so powerful, and had him tasting one rare source of ecstasy.

It was as invigorant as breathing the purest air in the middle of a forest. He had no word for that back then…

Then it all went away with the wind. Like a balloon being punctured. He was flat and void of interest. At last his body and soul had totally disconnected with the world that had always been overrated to him to begin with.

He was fine like that. He was fine being by him and freed from all those shallow emotions that made people stupid and weak like the annoying and boisterous prisoners there. Unlike them, he was lucid and didn't mingle with other business. All those things were useless.

The world would have been such a better place if people knew to shut up and let the others be. That was what he thought, even if that notion didn't bring the same energy as before.

Sasuke just wanted to be left alone in the confinement of his room to stare at the light filtering the cell.

"Hey Sas'key. I've got some sake!"

Sasuke breathed slowly to calm his nerves.

"Do you want to know where I've got it?"

Silence filled the room. But the roommate already knew that character of the broody dark haired prisoner.

"Hey, I'm not like I used to be in the beginning. I have relations now, buddy" the blue haired man said, bumping his chest and showing off "I know people here and there and I'm pretty close to the 'king' of this place, ha ha. So we were playing Mah Jong and guards tagged along. Man, those men are soooo boot-lickers. Like they really want to enter the group. But the reality is they wanna enter the group if you see what I mean. So, they came along and brought sake and-"

The man kept going on and on, while Sasuke blocked him again and again. It wasn't hard to reduce the blabbering into a plain background noise… until he talked higher. He was definitely more annoying than usual.

"Hey! I'm talking to you" he angrily said then jabbed Sasuke's shoulder

There was a long moment of silence that stretched longer and deeper than ever. Slowly, Sasuke turned his dark eyes toward his cell-mate. He didn't make any move, or even frown. His eyes all said it with a cool stare that could freeze hell. Of course the other man felt it. Sasuke's dark and scary aura enveloped the man into a cold embrace that made his body betray his feelings. In the span of those few seconds, the man had one scary episode.

His eyes bulged; he moved backward and then tensed up.

Sasuke sat up.

"We're nothing to one another. I don't care what you do of your life. I don't even care what your name is. All I want from you is not to talk to me"

Sasuke went back to lying.

The man then recovered.

"Well my NAME is Suigetsu. And everyone knows it except you. Who do you think you are? You think you are better than us? That you need no one? You are in the same misery as us! The society wants none of us and that includes you. Not because you've got a pretty face that you're worth more than us. It means nothing and you'll regret-"

It was too quick for Suigetsu. One moment he was talking, the other one he was against the wall his back aching from the impact. The pressure from Sasuke's forearm at his neck made it hard to breathe. Instincts taking over, Suigetsu fought to remove the arm, his hands gripping it as hard as he could. The fight only proved to make the pressure more unbearable with the seconds.

It was more than fighting, more than what the eyes first met. The small encounter turned into the fight for dominance. Would he push Sasuke back with all the fighting or would Sasuke tame him until he begged? At that hour of the day, all the prisoners were still outside taking as much outside air in the yard as they could before entering their ill-smelling boxes.

There were just the two of them. Soon enough the stronger took over without much of an effort.

"This is the last time you ever trouble me when I'm resting. A weakling as you should cleverly choose his battles. Because none of your pathetic contacts will save you when I'd want to get rid of the annoyance you proved to be"

"You… wi-will… r-regret… a-acting… Li-like… ugh!"

Sasuke let Suigetsu slid onto the floor and do his best to act manly and cool but getting out again of the cell. Their exchange did nothing to Sasuke, just basically annoying the hell out of him. That reaction though resisted few seconds before getting washed away and out of his system.

Like that little episode didn't exist, like nothing happened, he went back to his bed. He lied again on his back, with his hand along his sides.

It was the night again. Of course they didn't care about the prisoners -just them escaping. Only halls, exits and the only office were lighted by the white fluorescent lights. A pale halo reached to their side but subtlety enough to keep them in semi dark. There was time when that light grated on his nerves enough that he wanted to be released as soon as possible.

Tonight though he was too tired for that, drowning into an energy-sucking slumber… but one last thought crossed his mind that night, the same that crossed it since the first hour that day.

He was going to do anything to get out of that damp hole as soon as possible. No matter what it would take…


	2. cohabitation disturbances

**2.**

Two seconds were enough to change someone life radically. They were enough to make bad choices whose consequences –sometimes imperceptible- could lead to a breaking point. Two seconds were enough to fall into a pit, to destroy the fruit of many years of hard work or simply to die.

Two seconds were a pivoting time for many.

It took two years to break his soul down

That was how much time he had ruined staying in prison

Those two years of his life, he had spent it in that gray hole lost in the middle of the village of Ame. Like many before him, and many after, he just settled instead of pushing hard enough to find better. While some did it because chances were too fine, he didn't even try.

Freedom became at some point just a word echoing at the back of his head.

Time went on, he grew old; he changed.

Sasuke knew deep down that he wasn't the same anymore.

Other events came to confirm that: he was almost sentenced to death. That simple idea to die didn't faze him a bit. The irony of life had it that for the same reason, he was acquitted. Just one year of imprisonment and he would feel again what he had missed all these years.

Ten days less, ten years more, it would still be the same. He didn't care anymore.

Sasuke had to lose it all, but in the end nothing of all that matter. The mission of his life had been accomplished between the walls of that prison. He had eventually done what he had been breathing all those twenty two years for. It was all over now. That's why all this agitation coming from the other inmates for their freedom didn't touch or influence him one bit… yet this listless reaction of his was what was going to set him free again

He just wanted to lie around and do nothing until his sentence took an end…

That was his plan at first

"… What should I do? ... Hah hah hah…"

Superfluous murmurs kept ricocheting into his head, as if it was inside. Again and again… incoherent rambling that put together meant nothing, followed by snickers going on and getting stronger. Sasuke didn't jolt as he would usually do. He looked up without moving. Seeing there was no one, he turned back to sleeping –more exactly closing his eyes, while letting his soul falling into a void.

"… Hah, why not? It could be funny… hah… like before… hahaha"

He didn't move because he knew what that could be.

One day, Suigetsu got so much on his never that he simply beat him to pulp. His ex cellmate kept avoiding him then for the rest of his stay on earth. It was funny how two days after his lifeless body was found; he hadn't being questioned about it. It wasn't even mentioned the day of his sentence.

One should consider that they were as about important as the dirty unwashed ground they walked on every day.

That was a far away memory though, whose details were vanishing a bit more every seconds passing by. Too bad for him, they replaced him two days later.

Not that he cared. The new one was calm, just as inexistent as him. He never brought drama or felt the need to report every whispered word of that hole, let along reclaim some of his attention. The only problem might have been that he was too much like him, in that he never left the cell. But then, he knew to mind his own business and keep to himself.

Until now.

"… yes? No? Should I… maybe… I need it…"

Sasuke sat swiftly to face the over 6 feet guy. He looked like he could break the bars of the cell with one hit. Those same frightening biceps were tense and his whole structure was trembling.

His blood-shot eyes seemed to have been on Sasuke all this time.

He knew it because their eyes met -dark void eyes clashed topaz stunned looking ones. Two seconds went on, two during what choices have been made.

Sasuke read in the eyes of his opponent the promise of a rough, painful death.

"What the-"

He tensed his muscles and jaw. The space was too restricted; there was no real room to properly move, to properly make a strategy. He couldn't crouch down, couldn't put some space between them… All that mattered was who knocked down the other first, and Sasuke's opponent was unfortunately a good six-footer, with muscles as big and hard as bricks. The other guy could as well be a lion.

Sasuke backed up against the bed.

The enraged man charged at him.

A hit landed. The impact echoed.

The first level of the bed gave way under the heavy and swift hit. Sasuke cursed, realizing what a good landed hit from that guy meant. He could receive one. He swiftly breathed in. there was an opening. Sasuke used his opponent's forearm as support and kicked him hard in the head.

He stumbled against the opposite wall. For one second, a horrible idea crossed Sasuke's mind. The guy was crazy, as crazy as a wild untamed animal. There has been so much rage that it was inhuman. Only blood could tame that thirst.

It was him or the other one.

One second was all he got to think.

The blazing haired monster was too quick. He hadn't realized it at time.

Sasuke was quick too, but not enough and the guy managed to get him. The strength of the hit was so high that he bounced against the wall. One second, it all he had. One move was all he had left to live or to die.

The violent guy twisted all the way down. Sasuke swiftly turned on himself and landed a hit right on the nape of the guy's neck. His eyes rolled back up and he fell loudly on the ground.

He had won one day more to live, yet he felt nothing. His ears were buzzing more and more, the ground flying farther and farther. Even more strange was that he didn't fell his body. But then the floor came at a quick space toward him. He didn't understand.

It was dark…


	3. the nurse

3

As Sasuke drifted, he got a vague perception of his surroundings.

He floated under dark waters, his body too light to be felt. The only functional part of his being was his feeble ears. He knew it as he could hear a soft voice humming. It was windy and balmy, easily relatable to something reposing, something agreeable.

He just wanted to follow it to the surface.

He was almost brought back to the present, by a sharp pain slashing through his side, but he couldn't find his way back far enough to open his eyes

And then he assumed he was dead

The ghostly murmur calling to him, remembering him warm days of spring, was all he could perceive. It pictured what he had as image of heavens

"It's being three days now." A stark bass reverberated, disturbing the quietness "And you're here humming and cleaning like the perfect little maid for that... prisoner"

The suave murmur stopped.

"Shhh... he need to rest."

"And me, don't you think I deserve some?"

"I am busy. Would you please wait outside?"

"How can you!"

It was instinctive to never question the other sounds -the snarl, the shocking snapping sound, the shuffling... his mind shied away from the awful tumult. He tried to concentrate on the soft voice.

The murmur started all over again but this time, a piece of music which was really in vogue in those late twenties accompanied it, marrying the variations and tones.

Peace washed over him. It felt like the first time since forever.

"I hope we didn't wake you up" the melodious voice more stated than asked

May be, he wanted to say. Anything. But he couldn't find his lips, or anything else. He felt like a ghost.

The voice suddenly diminished, going away, leaving him behind. The dark waters became more and more pressing, squeezing him painfully; more, and more and more... then the pain from his side broke through the darkness.

He jolted back to his sense

"You are finally awake!"

Finally back in the land of living, he got a brief view; or rather feel of his surroundings. He was propped up on a hard, uneven bed — a bed with rails. The pillows were flat and lumpy. Annoying ravens croaked further away. He was still alive.

 _Death can't be this uncomfortable._

Without giving a second though, he swiftly sat up.

"Oh heavens! Watch out!"

Bad move. His hand slipped at the edge of the brown sheets. He didn't have time to breathe, he landed on something soft.

Yet he had to breathe, deep. A soft and soothing scent invaded his nostrils, making his brain float and travel somewhere familiar. Sasuke searched thoroughly his memories for that scent in vain. Soft arms wrapped around him, and he breathed in the scent, deeper this time, letting its effect work on him again.

The lady –as her complexion gave away- helped him back into the bed. He looked up this time.

Pure gray eyes stared down into his. They were half hooded under long and dark eyelashes. He kept watching, searching into those clear eyes, a bit distracted by the dark blue hair framing them. The long strand kept caressing his face like feather.

Her embrace and unintentional caresses troubled him. They felt foreign, almost alien. He wanted to understand it, and his reaction to it. Yet … Something was happening, something that was to his frustration escaping his mind. He has been mentally numb for so long he felt like a legume.

"You seem a bit lost, sir. Oh! My bad, let me introduce myself: I am Hinata, the nurse of this charming place" her tone was too sweet for sarcasm but he almost snickered "you have found yourself into a dispute six days ago with Juugo-kun, your cellmate… you fought and you ended up here"

She stopped, waiting something. He finally realized she expected him to speak. He didn't. They kept looking into each other eyes, for seconds on end -too long. He couldn't help but bore into her eyes. She didn't falter, keeping that polite smile on. She was just a stranger.

Sasuke wondered… was it because it was the first time in two years that he was out of his cell? Was it that she was just like a new toy handed to a kid at Christmas? Was it that he finally lost his mind? no matter the numerous questions, his mind kept zoning out.

"Let me give you some water okay?"

Sasuke didn't react, while Hinata was preparing everything.

Again, she touched him. With her hand at the nape of his neck she lifted up his head. As soon as the water hit the back of his throat he got up again, his hand holding firmly both the glass and her fingers. He realized his gesture a little bit later, yet he didn't let go of her smaller hand.

It felt like his first human contact in forever. He never minded human contact, avoiding it sometimes. Such problem or concern has never even been the least of his problem. Yet somehow, the warm emanating from this simple contact was making him pressing more.

"Where is he?" he asked, his voice raspy and croaky

"Juugo-kun was released first but he was sent to isolation. He won't share a cell anymore"

He looked at her with conceded surprise. They were all prisoners with number. They were supposed to mean nothing there, and even less to society. That she knew the guy's name make the air on his forearm stood.

She didn't look suspicious at first. But he knew better than that. His past experiences showed him, such frail girls could be deadly… suspicion rose higher.

Sasuke looked for any strange behavior or anything similar. The first word that rang at that time was 'spy'.

"How surprising" he coolly said, letting go quick of her hand

He looked around and finally realized something: a squared tissue was taped over his left eye. He lifted his hand.

"No, please" she said, her hand already keeping him from doing anything

"What's with that?"

"Your eye… it was closed and bloody when you were brought here. It needs time to heal and rest, just like you. I can guess you are on a hurry to get out of this place and out of -here. But… you need some time to regain your full potential"

"Potential…" he droned on

"I don't know anyone in this place –or anywhere else- who could have survived against Juugo-kun" she smiled, never breaking the eye contact "so… do you mind staying?"

Sasuke's body stiffened. He decided that he couldn't trust her at all.

"Because I have a choice too?" Sasuke murmured, not trusting his voice

"I guess I would take it for a yes then…" she lingered

Sasuke guessed she wanted to add something, his name maybe. That's how it felt like. He directly dismissed the idea.

She looked too perfect, too kind, especially for a place like that. He had time to see, if not every crook and cranny of the prison, the daily behavior of the staff. The kindest of them were arrogant about it, ready to spit on the prisoners. The contrast with her was too grotesque for it to be real.

Hinata was trouble. He thought that and was ready to make adequate decisions.

 _They definitely sent her_


	4. unexpected

4.

Before ending in prison it was child's play for him. He could draw up the psychological profile of anyone in a matter of minutes, or at least get a clear idea what they were about. Nothing escaped his hawk eyes, nothing and no one.

Yet she did -in a way.

He wasn't used to it.

Hinata wasn't really that hard to figure out. She was calm, uneventful. During those two days, she never uttered anything more than vain polite futilities, cleaned the little room, perfumed it, tidied up her documents and tended to him. In between, she would read. That was it.

That brought two possibilities to his mind: If she was innocent and plain as she pretended to be, her behavior was camouflage. With the perfect polite generic smile and neat kindness in such a place, she was either separating herself from others or was avoiding troubles. If she was sent by someone else, then she was hiding not from society but him.

He was seventy percent sure that she was just a product of that soul-sucking society, mind-boggling daily work, and creepy surroundings. The tension of another possible couldn't be shaken, though.

There was still a question that kept him alert whenever she was there.

How could a single woman with all her head work in a place full of damned prisoners and predatory officers?

He entertained the possibility that she was betrothed to one of them. Only an affiliation to the guardians of this place, even as fine as a string, could protect someone. If she was that simple minded something would have happened, and if something happened she wouldn't look like she fell straight out of Innocence Land. Her eyes reflected just that.

There were her reactions too.

It was like something was scratching its long nails against the door, never entering, just staying at the entrance.

On one hand he felt like he had some power over it. May be he would just push the door open and the wisdom would flood him. On another hand, it was clearly escaping his grasp. Every time he tried, he failed. For now he let her be his only distraction until he got well and fit.

He was not stupid enough to close both eyes.

He did enter this prison on purpose. The mission had been accomplished without any soul knowing. It was the main reason he suspected her. It was possible that someone had sent her. Maybe she was innocent but had been lured in by something better that this hole. Every case was possible, and it was giving him headaches.

He remembered her asking if he wanted to stay -as if the nursery was a better place than his cell. It was still in the bloody prison, and he would stay where he was asked to. That was it.

Sasuke jumped slightly when he realized that Hinata had been staring at him with her usual tight smile. He didn't blink, waiting to see. She did nothing. His jaw tensed.

"What?"

"I was asking if you need anything. Like books? You must be bored staying there and doing nothing…"

He thought she implied something else. Her words simply died on her tongue.

"Nothing"

"Is there something you like?"

 _Was she really making conversation?_

Sasuke stared at her for a long time, and she stared back. At first it was because her question was so out of the blue, so intrusive. Why would he answer? Why would she even ask? Why would she care? Did she even care? He remembered then, how women loved to chat to fill the air, always nosing around all over the place… not just women. People in general.

He hated that a lot.

However, he kept staring into her eyes. It felt like he was reaching some sort of epiphany.

"Nothing"

"I see" she smiled a bit more "do you have some hobby?"

"Who cares if a prisoner has a hobby?"

"A prisoner is still human"

"You mean a criminal is still human. Interesting"

Hinata missed a bit. She breathed deep

"Every person present in those cells is humans…" she paused again, bit her lips but didn't speak

"That depends" Sasuke answered in a neutral voice; he wanted to play this game.

"On what?" Hinata asked. He could see that she as hesitant since she started talking. She acted like she walked around eggs' shells.

"The crime" Sasuke answered, looking straight into her face without blinking

"That's not the point."

"Oh really. Pleaser enlighten me"

"The point is being repentant of one's way… well, that's one of the points" She murmured the last part, looking at the floor

"You don't know me, you don't know my sins, why I'm here" Sasuke examined her very moves "And I'm probably the least repentant of them all"

"I have been working here for quite a time… that cannot be true. Besides…" she whispered again, casting an atmosphere that Sasuke didn't like "I can see it in your eyes that-"

Hinata stopped talking and blushed.

"I –I –I suppose I have overstepped… but I think, it is worth, uh, having hobbies –like baking. Cakes are delicious… and… whatever" she winced at the last part of her speech

Sasuke knew that his looks discouraged her from adding anything. At least she knew when to keep quiet. He reluctantly gave her a point for time.

She didn't look at him anymore, but a blind spot. He, on the other hand, had been almost devouring her facial's expression. Her melancholy didn't escape his sharp eyes.

Of course! Apparently the pathetic boyfriend did not make her happy … He rolled his eyes. Yet he couldn't help but talk. She had managed to touch a topic that had always made him uncomfortable. It was something he both ran away and into it. He almost always felt the need to.

It made him almost resent her… and want to confront her. He wanted to prove her that she didn't know what she was talking about because that simple notion, of 'it's easy to be happy' was an opposing force to what he thought he knew.

He had always been able to walk away from people trying to pierce through his soul. Now he was trapped between these four walls with her.

When he saw her ring, his arrogance buffed his chest. 'Of course' he thought. She was just like all of them. They liked to talk like they knew it all, but they didn't.

They talked to someone trying to climb the mountain when they were happily already at the top.

"That's for happy people who have something happy to held onto" Sasuke bitterly hissed

Sasuke looked at her ring. Her gaze followed his. She became embarrassed, touching her hands. When their eyes met, she hid her hands in her pockets.

"You do not?" she said, while tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear

"No…"

"Well, certainly some… one is waiting for you out there"

"No. Nothing and no one wait for me out there, and I don't care…" Sasuke honestly said; Hinata reacted immediately "what?"

"Well… It's hard to imagine that" she softly said, her eyes becoming darker, her eyelids falling half over her iris

"Yeah, because everyone has a happy life –seems legit"

"You really gave up?"

"Why are we having this conversation again?"

"I –I have seen people lose faith… it is not worth it" Hinata gulped with a frightened look on her face but she nodded

Sasuke snickered humorless

"Humility definitely belongs to the Rich"

"W-what do you mean?"

"You work, you have food -you even have a ring. Of course you'd talk about being loneliness and hopeless. That totally gives more weight to your words"

He kept pushing. He normally wouldn't mind but it was all her fault. She just pushed the wrong button, putting herself in the box he reserved for the annoying ones.

Sasuke was done with her.

He lied on his back. The day wasn't over yet he felt overly irritated and tired. What disturbed him the most was the cause. He tried to repress it but even with closed eyes, her face and their conversations kept popping up. Her lost eyes, the melancholy, the frail way she jumped every time he spoke sent him back to those days he wanted to forget and that had made her relatable, until she spoke.

The silence grew thicker.

Out of instinct he turned toward her to verify what she was doing. As an afterthought, he decided it was just to make sure she wasn't doing anything funny.

To his surprise she was looking at him. Her expression stood out the most: any trace of fear or excuses had disappeared. There was almost something hard.

"This place and this village are no places where to be easily that happy to live in. Villagers… Prisoners… It is common to each of us to wait for that light…" Hinata trailed, her words affecting her eyes

"And you thought you could be my light. Of course" Sasuke said, in a calm voice, never betraying his frustrations

"No. I would not pretend such things" Hinata retorted with that fake smile he knew too well "I just want to help alleviating your discomfort here..."

"You do dream big"

"I know I am not that exciting and this place is tern and empty… so I think books will help. Just give it a try. It does help when freedom is such a scarcity"

Without ado she roamed in her bag. She took out two books, one with a dark gray cover and another one that was white. They looked neat, but the crooked tips gave away, how much she must have read them. She stood there for some time as if debating mentally, hesitation affecting in her body language.

Hinata smiled a bit and delicately put the books on his bedside.

Her eyes reflected nothing.

Her ring grabbed his attention.

He looked away.

It was hard to perceive her presence when he didn't look at her. She could be anywhere –at the end of the room, at her desk… near him. He felt as if she was too close, hovering over him. A cool hand caressed his back; goosebumps crawled up his arms. That made him look up again, but she wasn't there anymore.

It wasn't the first time it happened in two days

Silence filled the room again, wrapping around him. Strangely enough, he couldn't lie quietly. He preferred to believe it was due to his sleeping for too long. But there was a different between knowing the source of the problem and the possibility to solve it. He needed to stop the unbearable twitch.

Sasuke breathed deeply and sat.

His eyes fell on the books.

' _why not?'_ he thought


	5. the last day

5.

The end of an era was always strange.

After getting used to a place, after spending some much time doing something, there was always an uncomfortable feeling suffocating the chest at the farewell moment-some would cry, others would feel nostalgic.

Sasuke couldn't entirely detach himself from the place.

He knew why, but he couldn't explain it.

He had time to observe her. Since day one day, nothing about her changed, from her routine to her pale blue uniform. Their everyday was uneventful, and there was no reason for him to change what he thought about her. Expect a new element entered the picture.

She reflected something inside him.

He couldn't look away.

But was it an enough reason?

He tried to ignore her but she would sneak up in his mind and torture him in a slow painful way, that he would eventually give up to her and watch her hours on end: Her emotionless expression, her occasional tight smiles when she would eventually catch his gaze, her motions… it made no sense yet they all soothed him.

May be it was because she was something new, may be because she broke his soul-sucking routine established two years ago. She pierced through the barrier separating him from the world, and she was now trying to take place.

His mind, his intellect challenged this, and exposed her as an intrusive image to get rid of. Hinata didn't belong there… yet she managed to reach so far inside he couldn't do anything anymore about it… Hinata would stay there, a puzzle he would let rest at some place of his mind until time would eventually have her under control.

After all he was to go. So it didn't matter that he got used to that routine; it didn't matter he realized she had been watching over him as proved by the rings under her eyes; it didn't matter she took care of him.

All of that didn't matter anymore, because in a few minutes he would crawl back into his miserable state of nothingness. Surely she would stop tormenting him once she's out of sigh.

"… Why, my love I pine for your beautiful eyes. How can I not write you poems?"

"You are too kind to me"

"It's only normal"

"I surely don't deserve so much from you… you could have any woman you want, what you would do with someone like me"

He had heard enough

"It's time…" Sasuke said, efficiently interrupting Hinata and Mizuki who froze

"Oh…"

"Prisoner 1940. Finally up. I won't hide my joy" he said with a tone pointing in another direction

Hinata opened her mouth, and then closed it.

"It's quite a miracle that you survived your attack. I hope you thanked her, because that day you almost broke her delicate hand so much you hold onto it" Mizuki laughed, not even sparing Sasuke a second glance

"Please Mizuki-san…"

"What? I'm just saying the truth. Just like when I say I'm happy he will free the room. This way I could make the best of your free time, love. You'll enjoy yourself" Mizuki shrugged

Sasuke saw Hinata smile that tight smile he had witnessed many time before. It seemed even more strained and faker than ever. The information crawled far up his mind, until it translated physically: he slightly moved toward Hinata, ready to intervene. He saw this man plenty of time in action –he was savage.

The first time he saw her, he taught he was Hinata's betrothed. He assumed it never thinking twice, never noticing the twitching or uneasiness of the woman. Everything he taught he knew crumbled half part.

The man pulled her to him by the hips.

"W-Wait" Hinata pleaded, a little shaking visible on her hands

"What?" Sasuke coolly asked, his sentence looking more like a statement than a question.

The moment he felt the contact of her fingers on his forearm, he pulled far away from her. Hinata brought back her hands next to her as if she got burn. Mizuki didn't miss the exchange and looked at Sasuke as if he didn't deserve to breathe the same air as him.

As if he cared!

Sasuke stared at her, wondering where she took her courage to touch him. Not only he hadn't been that friendly, but her menacing betrothed was being oppressive. He hoped it was out of courtesy.

"Let him go" Mizuki said, impatience and authority thick in his voice

"I h-have to talk to him"

"About what? He's a prisoner. You have nothing to talk about"

"I have a… I have a-a proposition for him"

"It's always about him since he got injured. He's fine now!"

"That is beside the point" she retorted with more incisive

"No, it's not! He came here like a half-dead horse and you tended to his wounds. You stayed here instead of going back to your place, in case 'he had an attack' like you said." Mizuki almost spitted all his words "And from what I see you cooked meals for this –miserable pathetic excuse of a human being. He's a criminal Hinata and you have done more than enough"

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears.

Hinata stood there in complete silence. Her eyes darted to the floor like she most of the time did. He noticed that in her. She was soft spoken, unbearably polite and so submissive; he wondered how it was possible. She made him think of a princess who has been sheltered her whole life.

Yet there she was, standing her ground against a man who she should fear. His unsettling passion for her, his insistent demands and his obvious tendency to violence was perturbing. Sasuke knew such kind of man –the ruthless man who could do anything to get whatever he wanted, including killing babies and rapping for fun. He had killed such men in the past.

The way the man looked at him felt like he might have to give it a go again. May be he would get the maximal penalty this time. Not that he ever feared dead, especially in those two years.

"… I need his help here to get things in order. I've been needing some help to put order in the archives. He could help me" she murmured, her eyes glued to the floor, her voice quiet and small

"What? You're not serious"

Mizuki looked at her with a mix of incredulity and scorn. Hinata looked back with a surprising lack of plead in the eye. Then again, he was used to her empty eyes but it felt like she was defying him, which had eventually repercussions. He looked angry, his scorn growing with every second passing by.

The clock ticked loudly away the time passing by, filling the heavy stillness.

For a second, he thought the man would attack her. He was much taller and it was clear that he was part of the military. His dark khaki uniform spoke for him, but not as much as his stature. On the other hand, he seemed to spend time taking care more about his light blue hair than the security of the town.

"Are you avoiding me or what?" Mizuki drawled with a small smile, his forefinger and thumb massaging the knot between his eyebrows

"She had been busy tidying her work papers all days long" Sasuke said, despite his internal fight to mind his business; but the man looked unstable.

"Really" he sneered "You better shut it. Look, Hinata, I'll ask someone to-"

"I think it is not a good idea for this place"

"If it's so risky, why have _him_ here?"

"Because he is the only person I trust here"

The metaphorical stillness affected every human present at that moment. Sasuke didn't show it, but his body grew colder and stiffer the moment those words left her mouth. Shock, surprise, uneasiness, distrust… every one turned around in his head. He desperately gripped on the negative ones to have his mind at peace, but the less negative one kept fighting their way through his efforts.

Mizuki looked livid. His somewhat decent face twisted into an ugly mask of madness. His emotions were clear in his ice blue eyes, the violence of them sweating from his body, shaking it. Yet nothing happened. He swallowed it, after glancing at Sasuke.

"This must be a joke" he started, laughing darkly

"No. I need to talk with him, so please allow me this favor. I know what I do. He is in no way a danger"

Mizuki frowned so deep he didn't look anything like before. Then he looked at Sasuke again. In that moment he knew he would never sleep with both eyes closed.

Sasuke was just by that time that these people had lost their mind and he was half way to lose his.

Mizuki stomped out.

She quickly closed the distance.

"I'm not dangerous" Sasuke repeated in a neutral tone "what game are you playing?" he asked with affected annoyance

Hinata looked up at him with surprise written all over her face. That was what he thought until they stared at each other for a bit too long. He didn't think she was genuine.

She opened her mouth, and then closed it. Again, again, again. Her eyes travelled down to his lips, to his neck, to his chest, and so on until they landed on the floor. That moment felt strange to him. It didn't make sense. He didn't understand it.

The way it felt, left him much more on his guard. He frowned deep to scare her off. His unfriendliness obviously intimidated her. Her words came with less assertion.

"I just wanted to say I did not fear you would do anything to me" she whispered, still looking down.

"If you're intelligent-"

"Stop it please." She cut him short, looking all the way up this time "You have not done anything to deserve distrust"

"I won't give you anything back" Sasuke snapped

"You are mistaking this. I-"

"You don't know what I've done or why I'm here"

"It belongs to the past" she said, never blinking

She didn't mark a beat.

He noticed that.

He did the same. He walked up to her, reducing the distance too much for her comfort.

"I've killed a man and I'll repeat it if I've got another occasion to"

"… I just want to help you"

He could feel his own incredulousness impinge on him, strengthening his guards. His muscles tensed, to which Hinata's own body reacted.

"Why are you making my life hard?"

They stared at each other like always, as if trying to communicate in another fashion. He tried to transcript her thoughts, while hiding his behind a massive scowl. He didn't talk, though. This silence was his best arm against her who wanted him to fill it. Whatever her expectations were, he wouldn't fulfill it.

Seconds went on, turning into full blown minutes until she blinked, looking dizzy or distracted.

He wondered. She looked like she wanted to say something more. Or maybe his mind was being treacherous to him again. There were questions that would join the billion ones that would never be answered, because he was already outside.

He didn't give her enough time to react, or let his own self react.

"Good choice. You'd better never come back!" Mizuki barked at his retreating silhouette.


	6. getting things straight

6.

 **Getting things straight**

Why did he have to be so miserable?

Why was he so restless?

Why couldn't he go back to his state of numbness?

Sasuke leaned back against the wall. He was actually sitting on the cold floor, hands dangling between his knees. His skin matched the cold air of that lonely prison. It was normal to him. All of that was normal and belonged to his life since he entered that prison.

It was the same place. The box hadn't changed, just like its four gray walls they never had taken proper time to paint. There had never been anything else up until now. But he couldn't see it anymore.

Nothing was getting any better or back to where things were before. Two weeks went away, two weeks during what he had been hiding in that desolated box when he could have spent it somewhere else, breathing something better as that moldy air.

He wasn't hoping for freedom when he turned his back that day –that would have been stupid. Since day one, he knew where he stood when it came to that subject. However, he had never felt freedom so far away from his grasp.

When he was awake, she obstructed his thoughts process; when he was asleep, she invaded his dreams. She never let him alone, but there was worse.

It hurt him, of all things.

She hurt him in such a painful way.

He wanted and needed to understand the reason for his torment. Moreover, he needed back his peace of mind. It was bewildering for him to think that instead of the prison breaking his soul; it took a fragile girl looking like a doll.

She wasn't even that special.

She was plain.

She was just something new -or her appeal came from the fact she was his first real human contact. It was the only explanation he wanted to attribute to her influence. Once he would get used to her, the same thing would occur. Just like with his need to get freedom, that suffocating feeling would go away.

It had to.

He was going to be the Sasuke who faced things head on again. To prove himself, he went straight to her.

To his surprise, there were no guards or anything before the door to the nursery, just the regular two ones on the highest tower. They were intimidating with their arms and way of looking everything down, but he knew better than that. They looked at him but he didn't care. He went on as if there was nothing.

There he was again.

He breathed deeply.

"You're alone"

Hinata looked up then, her wide eyes full of something escaping his mind. Of course she had been running through his mind, so it was impossible for him to forget her traits in two weeks. But seeing her, face to face, was something else. It felt like his mind didn't do her justice.

Nothing about her changed. It was the same pale skin looking like porcelain; it was the same long midnight hair framing her delicate features; it was the same big gray eyes, the same nose, the same rosy lips… yet she felt new.

As he stared into those oddly deep eyes, he got more confused than before. With her in flesh and bones before him, he felt soothed and good. Sasuke expected to feel calm; that the storm would calm down, not this. This feeling was not in the neutral zone. It still hurt but in a mixed way.

When he slipped so far away, he wondered.

Sasuke kept his eyes on her, focusing on his task at hand, trying to ignore the rest.

"Is the post already taken?"

"Oh no…" she smiled warmly "it is hard to find someone"

"Is that so?" His tone remained monotone

"Yes… most candidates were kind of…"

"I get it… what do I have to do?"

"You can sweep the… floor" her voice died in her throat "or… or you can put those papers back into the archive. Yes, you do that –after, you can stay to have some lunch. Is that okay with you?"

"Deal"

Of course he wouldn't sweep any floor but then there were not many papers to put back in place. In five minutes he was done. It was a joke.

Back to square one: he was watching her again. This time around, it wasn't to pass the time but to figure out what was going on. However, she felt foreign as before, despite everything being the same. She was more mysterious, more enchanting. There was something more about her that wasn't there two weeks ago.

"You are already done?"

"There wasn't much to get done"

"Well, it's true"

"Why then? Why ask help?"

She stopped everything and turned toward him.

"I think working here would help reduce your sentence"

"And?"

"Isn't that a good opportunity?"

"I still wonder why you feel so concern. You're nothing to me and I'm nothing to you"

"I… I was there the day of the trial" she paused "I saw that face… you had given up. Then you came here almost dead… I've never seen anyone in that state"

"I almost died. So what? Everyone will"

"Don't you want to get out of here?"

"I won't give you anything back –whatever you want"

"If you really thought I was like that you would not be here"

"Oh really"

Sasuke didn't know what had possessed him in that moment, why he was doing that. He wasn't thinking, and didn't want to. All that mattered was the urging pulse coursing through his veins. That was the only reason, which wasn't even logic in the first place.

He reduced the space between them in three paces

"What can you do against me?"

He had never seen her this close. Her grey eyes had nuances making them a bit darker –that information seemed capital in that moment. They were something new to him, as much as her ghostly appearance that the constant darkness outside emphasized. She was surreal, like a paint of a mystic creature that kept him being pulled inside… then she bit her lips.

That moment he knew she had screwed him.

Yet he didn't back off. He couldn't.

Sasuke get a bit more into her personal space. At first, he thought it was to prove his point, show her how taller he was, how easily he could crush her. He might have not been a heavy guy with monstrous muscles but what he had were enough to get the point across.

Hinata was there, looking at him with wide eyes, looking trapped. She was against the wall, visibly pushing against it as if it would break open under her weight. He seemed to have won but the rise of his arrogance fell short.

What was she thinking? What was she seeing?

Maybe she was really afraid of him. He was a criminal who managed to knock down a "monster". May be she was just reacting to him like most women have been doing in the past. Just like with her, he never showed positive traits to any women out there. Him being cold was not enough to keep them coming, though.

Whatever she was really feeling was hidden from his but her reaction did have some repercussions.

Sasuke breathed deep.

"You are so frail" he caged her with both hands besides her head "whatever you might try to do… I can easily get rid of you without much effort. May be if you knew where I come from, you'd understand that"

"W-Where do you come from?" she asked while bending her head down

"You should ask what crimes I've already committed"

Hinata snapped her head up. Something crossed her eyes and she lifted up her shoulders. He realized he was too close for her comfort, and that alone made him painfully aware of her everything: her body, her quick pants fanning his face, her perfume…

They stared for the longest time they ever did.

"It doesn't matter"

"That I killed men?"

"I… If you wanted to –to do anything to me, you would have already d-done it"

"Why are you trembling then?"

"… I've already helped other people here. They are more than fine now"

"… Is that so?"

After all that happened, his pride was the only thing that he had left. That helped him in that situation for he couldn't let her make him kneel. His peace of mind was enough.

With the last ounce of control he had left, he moved out of her personal space, watching her relax.

"Whatever you're trying to do, you won't ever get anything from me"


	7. That crack in the door

**7.**

 **That crack in the door**

He spoke big words. He always had. People would complain about how arrogant and all conceit he was. His brutal honesty combined with the fact that he spared no one was at fault for his reputation that kept people at arm-length.

 _You are going to end up alone and miserable._

Those kind words, he had received them an awful lot of time, but it never made him hesitate or think twice. He didn't care enough to do so.

 _ **He had lived for so long in solitude that it constituted his entire world. It was everywhere; it wrapped everything in its claws. When he woke up, when he went to bed and when he tried to live through it in-between, it accompanied him. It has been such a long time that it was all he knew.**_

 _ **Those people wanted to plant seed in barren womb, on infertile fields. It was stupid, and stupid was incompatible with his blood.**_

 _ **Unlike those people who tried to delude themselves into thinking there's more, he knew the truth –it set him free. There's no hope in this world, nothing to fight for. Those who wanted to have fun daydreaming about life could do so if they wanted. As far as he was concerned, he didn't want to be dragged down with them.**_

 _ **He knew what he was talking about.**_

At one point in his life, it had been different.

He almost had it again, that family he had been wishing deep inside. His stolen past was almost his again, and then his demons caught up with him. His old wounds opened back, reinforcing his ambitions, something that could ruin what happiness he had. It ruined everything indeed.

That very moment he knew one couldn't simply outdo reality.

He eventually ended in prison, far away from those who once **symbolized** home to him. He just let go of them. _**When the life he had chosen weighted him down, made him feel sick during daylight and tortured him at night, he let go of that too.**_

A shitty life was easier when you were numb and detached –less drama, less fight, less tragedy… less loss.

That was his new motto.

During those two years of prison he had thought he'd reached this state of nothingness, this state of divinity that put you above whatever burdens that made a human, a human. He was supposed to have cut all ties and rest in peace, letting time go away.

He was supposed to be harder and uncaring.

Yet there he was.

When he missed a day at the infirmary, he was physically unwell.

It didn't take him long to realize that he didn't come back for the alcohol and band-aids.

Ignoring her wasn't an option anymore. It wouldn't help him. Even his pride wouldn't cut out. As his alternatives were ridiculously reduced, he decided to rely on reasoning. He forced his brain to see her influence on him as nothing but his hormones reacting to her. It was simplistic, animalistic… it was easier.

"Hinata…"

His bed had never been that comfortable since day one. This hole couldn't care even a bit about the prisoners, who were considered less than roaches roaming their houses. There were no other ways to put it when directors and workers of the prison found it normal to let them live in those improper conditions.

At that moment, everything was different though. He didn't feel his mattress, didn't see the dirty floor he had to sleep onto and didn't smell the moldy air. All his senses were focused on something else, while fire burned through his veins.

"ugh… Hinata…" he hissed through clenched teeth.

His back faced the bars so that as much intimacy as possible would be kept. That was the last rational decision he made before falling in this world of debauchery and desire. They couldn't see him, but even that didn't matter.

She was there with him.

He could feel her.

"damn!"

He pressed his shaft harder, pumping it with all his strength. It was so painfully yet so delicious, as the nerves in his lower part were burning him, pushing him to pump always harder. The violence of his needs made him feel like an animal, but he didn't feel repentant at all.

Regrets bring you nowhere. That was his last thought before he succumbed to her call.

He pressed his shaft harder, his hand firmly gripping his straining length. His moves were quick and desperately rough, intending to make him get off fast –nothing gentle or tentative about it, just as the violence of his desire whenever she's around.

Sweat broke out on his forehead; shudders ran wild across his torso and forearms. His skin felt too tight as his manhood swelled and strained between his merciless stroking fingers. The raging pleasure built, built, built until he bit down into his mattress, arched his back and flew into space. The tense agony wasn't going anywhere. With a hard grunt he clenched his teeth and came a second time, his hips jerking his release.

Each shuddering pulse reverberated through his body while he was coming slowly back to his senses.

That day he didn't go to the nursery. He didn't want to face her.

The next day he was there on time. He didn't look her way even once.

He drew two conclusions.

First, he had to keep an eye on her. His theories about her been sent to trap him seemed somehow ridiculous but she didn't make sense. She didn't seem to be attracted, so she wasn't after his body. However, her excuses looked even less believable than her being a spy or something that way. Samaritans were just mythical in this world he knew too well.

Second, he had to spend more time there. He wasn't going to pretend and do as if he didn't want to be there. It was crazy but this fight against himself wasn't going to make things right. He just needed to _indulge_ in this need for her presence to get rid of this _infection_. She was nothing special. Eventually he'd get bored and move on. That was the solution.

When something started to run a lot on his mind, he had to give way to it before he could rest. He knew himself too well: all he had to do was succumb to his desires.

"Thanks"

She looked surprised.

"O-oh, do not mention it"

"Just ask what you want to"

"What?"

"You have been staring for a while now"

"Uh- sorry"

"You keep saying that"

"Yes, uh, s- I mean…"

"When you want to say something, just say it. It's annoying when you keep beating around the bush"

"Uh… I do have some questions"

"Go ahead"

"Your presence has been irregular. I wondered if may be… you were sick"

"You can say that" he snickered.

"Ah… then I will fix you something to eat, if you don't mind of course"

"It's not necessary. I've taken care of that" he paused "what?"

"Uh, no –not really"

"Well, you are not gifted for lies"

"Not really indeed" she gently giggled "if you need anything, you can tell me. I will gladly help"

"You are doing enough"

"Oh"

"Any other questions…?"

"Well… yes… I mean… you-"

"Get to the point"

"It is just; it's not that easy…"

"…Why"

"It's… it is kind of personal" she hesitated, looked at her fingers then back at him "I have been wondering, how I could call you properly"

"What? My number isn't enough for you?"

"No"

Her answer was too spontaneous; too quick. He hadn't expected that resquest, neither his reaction to that. He gulped down.

"I… It is not you. That number is not you…"

"… Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke"

He didn't expect what he saw: her face broke into what looked like recognition. Her lips parted just a bit and her eyes widened, letting him get a glimpse into her soul. She breathed deeply. He took in every bit of her reaction, from her nostrils flaring to her chest heaving. His eyes caught it when she took in a sharp breathe.

His curiosity flared up.

Hinata shook her head lightly.

Hinata was definitely strange. She was nonetheless too open and unable to lie properly. It must be something else. Surprise?

"You look surprised"

"I… -I –I…"

"Don't lie"

"I… I heard about what happened to…"

"Yeah, my family has been brutally murdered by a degenerated man" he emotionlessly said "how would you know anyway?"

"I'm from the same village as yours…" she said. He was the one to be struck by surprise this time. He unconsciously pinned her down with his dark stare. She looked at everything but him.

"Which village?"

"Konoha"

"What's your full name?"

"Hi-Hinata… Hyuga"

Back in time he hadn't cared enough to know anything about anyone but him. Knowing information about other clans, or even people individually hadn't even had the privilege of featuring on the last place on his to-do list. However, he remembered hearing about that name. The man who owned the assassination's camp he ran away from had been looking for people belonging to that family.

Was it possible that like him she had been kidnapped from their village? Had she had to do horrible things too? His memories from the girls and women from that camp gave him chills.

His suspicions were at a cross-road.

"What are you doing here of all places."

"I… It's…"

He had noticed how she was so meek and weak when it came to stand her ground. Whether with the guards or him, she would do what she was asked to, even when she didn't want to. When she was asked questions she didn't want to answer for example, she would fidget and give in instead of dodging or rebuffing it. He'd lost count of how time and again he had to encourage her for her to say what she wanted to.

Answers were needed though. He wasn't going to help her this time.

"I'm sorry… Sasuke-san" she murmured, testing his name on her tongue "it isn't something I can talk about right now… I just… it's painful"

He was being used to her being distant and polite, not her showing so much emotion at once. Yet … She was being honest, at least she seemed. It was in her sorrowful eyes, and in the crease between her eyebrows.

They felt into silence. She kept staring at her fingers. Her delicate hands were flat against the table, neatly placed before her. His eyes travelled along the thin veins adorning her pale skin, across her long fingers to her paint-free nails… until they felt onto his much larger hands.

He realized that they have been getting closer during their conversation.

Her thin fingers were a hair away –just a little and they would touch.

He wanted to give in to the urge. It would be daring. His blood called for that.

She saw it. Her eyes lingered on his hands as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world. Her grey pupils were shiny and bold. Never had he saw that look in her eyes. Yet he knew she reflected his thoughts.

 _What are you thinking?_

Her little finger grazed his in a slow agonizing motion.

He snatched his hands away, folding his fingers together before his lips.

She had been gentle, her touch light. As always, she had teased him, never satisfying the fire she set herself. He felt doomed.

 _What is she thinking?_

She retrieved her hands and crossed her fingers, but didn't go away.

"Being sorry never changed history"

"Well, it is true indeed… but I have no better expression I guess"

"If you say so"

He leaned back in his chair. Her eyes flickered to his lips before going back to his dark eyes.

"So… how was your life before you came here?"

"Mostly shitty" he answered, feeling obligated to do so.

"Not so much different from here then" she murmured.

"It was definitely better than here"

"How… how is it there?"

"You're talking as if you aren't from there"

"I do… but my memories are hazy. I was ten the last time… and it's been eleven years now"

"I was seven. Guess, I'm not much of help"

She smiled a bit but he didn't show any emotions. She sighed and looked at the day slowly dying in an explosion of dark blue, purple, red and gold. She sighed again.

"Ame-no-kuni might not be Konoha but I have to add that the sky at dusk is a sight to behold. Don't you agree?"

"I've never had time for such things"

"It is a shame though. It belongs to the beauty of this world"

"My life hasn't been what you call beautiful. My filter is too broken for me to see it"

"Life is horrible here. No one has the heart to see the good side of life or even try to"

"You have everything to be happy" he said as a matter of fact "of course the world is suddenly pink and everyone has to be as happy as you."

Sasuke's tone has been as sharp as it could be. That frustrated him. Hurting her feelings wasn't something e cared about. It was how he reacted to her that had him in such state. Last time someone's managed to confront his way of thinking and made him defensive was his best friend –his one and only connection to this world.

He probably hated him now. It didn't matter though –at least he didn't want anything to matter, and that infuriating girl talking in that smooth tone wasn't helping. He hated it, but his pride kept him from running away.

"What would make you happy Sasuke-san?"

"It doesn't matter"

"It does"

Just like with his friend, he'd break whatever bridge she was trying to build. He craved for it.

Sasuke crossed his legs and put one arm behind his chair. A cruel smile tugged his lips into –blown a full-blown mocking grin. The skin of his face was burning. He recognized that feeling; he recognized that unforgiving expression he had given so many times before.

"If you can resurrect people then you'd come handy"

"That would be a little hard to manage"

"You've just answered to your question"

"One cannot erase the past. It is part of our identity but… by accepting reality and accepting who were are, we can eventually achieve it"

"That quote belongs in a pathetic book that sells huge on wishful thinking and delusion"

"You talk big"

"I've been to hell twice with a little pause in between"

"You're safe and sound and in seven months you're free. Less, if you keep on working here and showing your best"

"Then what? You think I have a fiancée and friends waiting for me out there uh. Of course"

"You make life what you want it to be. You can find your place"

"Like you've find yours, serving a place like this, marrying a pathetic excuse of a human and spending hours on end doing nothing in this –hell hole? You can't even fake to look happy."

Hinata sucked a breath in, her chest heaving up and down heavily. She bit down her lower lip and darted her wide eyes away. Sasuke wasn't letting go though. She needed to know; she needed to let him go.

 _Why is it so hard for all these people to understand?_

She closed her away. Her skin was flushed. Her shoulders shook lightly. When he expected her to cry, her hand shot to her neck and massage it in slow circles. His eyes followed the motion until it stopped.

He looked back and his eyes burrowed into hers, which stared at his lips. He realized that he had invaded her personal space.

Her shiny grey eyes slowly travelled across his lip, along his nose to fully gaze into his dark eyes.

"You're mistaking about me Sasuke-san. I have some fantasies and…" she paused, her eyes glazing "desires but I am a realist who has found her goal. I'm serving a cause by being here"

"Oh?" he whispered back, matching perfectly her tone "what is that?"

She looked straight at him with her lips lightly parted. They moved faintly, up and down, but no words left her lips. A small smile stretched them.

 _Are you mocking me?_

What had she seen in his eyes to warrant such a reaction?

"Helping prisoners with what little power I've got…"

"Why would that matter to you?"

"Because I know exactly what it feels like… both mentally and physically… you're not alone in this. I can feel your pain"

"My pain –my pain has nothing to do with this prison. My hell has nothing to do with any of this"

"It has… you're prisoner to your past, and that kind of prison is worse"

"I think it's already late. I'm going back to my cell"

Sasuke slapped his hands against the table.


End file.
